Alabama Man Walks 1,000 Miles To Minneapolis For 'Change, Justice And Equality'

Terry Willis of Huntsville, Alabama embarked on a grueling 1,000-mile walk from his hometown to the site of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in what he called a march for “change, justice, and equality," June 2.

Willis, a Black 35-year-old business owner, completed the walk on Sunday, June 12, after several stops to honor other victims of police brutality and racial injustice in several states. The march, during which he was joined by other people on several occasions, took 40 days.

“I just walked, that’s all I did,” he said to a crowd as he arrived at 38th and Chicago, the site of Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. “I'm no celebrity, I'm no superhero, I'm just a regular man who's seen a man get murdered, and I had to do something.”

In a Facebook post announcing the march, Willis said he felt that he needed to do his part “in making a change and better future for my son.”

“In 1963, [Martin Luther King] marched to Selma for us to have the right to vote,” he posted. “In 2020, I, Terry Willis, will walk from Alabama to Minnesota for our right to be seen as equals.”

Willis posted daily about his march on social media accounts. His Facebook page has amassed more than 39,000 followers by Sunday evening.

Willis told WKRG News 5 that he could not stand by after seeing Floyd’s death on video, so he made the decision to walk to Minneapolis as a tribute to Floyd’s memory.

“I could’ve been George Floyd. I’ve been arrested over 100 times. I’ve been tased. I could’ve been George Floyd,” Willis said.

He also said he hoped that his march would bring people together and called for police to treat people equally.

“Don’t approach the black man more aggressively because of his skin color,” he said.

He also posted footage and photos from several stops he made along the way, including in cities in Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri in honor of Breonna Taylor, Laquan McDonald and Michael Brown respectively. His most recent stop was in Houston, Texas, where Floyd was born.

Willis plans to go fly home to Hunstville today and set up an organization that teaches juvenile delinquents and ex-convicts skills for free to give them a new lease at life. A GoFundMe page for the planned nonprofit has raised $37,000 as of Sunday.